It's too bad the APD protest had to end in a confrontation. That sort of thing doesn't usually help the cause. It is good that people are taking to the streets to let their voices be heard on this subject.

APD has a leadership problem that leads to a PR problem. For that matter, our city has a leadership problem which leads to a PR problem. Mayor Berry's days of being a quiet administrator are over and it doesn't appear as though he really knows what to do. Other than support the police department, that is.

it seemed to me that APD went to the party expecting a "violent" confrontation, and that's what they got. I can't help but wonder how the protests would have gone had APD not shown up in riot gear with gas masks and SWAT teams visibly ready. (I also question the media's favorite characterization of the events as "violent" and "mayhem" I was heading down Central at around 5 pm, saw there was traffic--thought the protest would have been over by then, and after one slow block between 8th and 7th I turned right and drove down Coal. )

Exactly, JS: as a Facebook comment I read yesterday said, their inability to see how showing up in riot gear escalates things says it all.

It seems at the moment like they only have two modes: ineffectual and violent. Certainly their inability to peacefully control or direct protestors for 12 hours yesterday without breaking out the tear gas won't reassure anyone they can do their jobs without cracking heads.

A friend made comment online last night that really struck me: she's fed up that the argument "it's just a few cops who are violent, but APD as a whole is not the problem" is often made by the same people who will descry "violent" protests when, out of hundreds of participants, there are a dozen people acting like idiots.

Well, it seems as though the chief of police is characterizing the protest as a violent mob and is praising his force for having behaved admirably in the face of such a violent mob. So I guess we have to consider it a success that they managed to not shoot anyone? The mayor also is praising APD. So it looks like nothing is going to change. What a pity.

The reality is that no matter what APD does right now, it will be deemed an inappropriate response. No doubt a state that only radical change will resolve. But I have to wonder, what if only a fraction of the energy spent by the protestors, the police, the media and the 'concerned' citizens had been directed to helping James Boyd when he was a live and on the streets. Where would we be now?

So....the police shoot a mentally unstable man in the back and that's the responsibility of "the media and the 'concerned' citizens"? I'm not buying it. If APD doesn't want to deal with the fallout of killing people, they need more effective training, situationally appropriate response teams and the willingness to penalize officers who act violently. And, you know, to stop shooting people.

There was a great editorial in the Journal recently discussing the need for outpatient mental health treatment for those who cannot care for themselves appropriately. This approach has been adopted in 45 other states, but not in New Mexico. With our current Guv's record on behavioral health, it probably won't be during her term.

Re: APD, in some of the cases (such as Redwine, not so much Boyd) I think it's becoming akin to suicide bombers. Severely depressed people know that if they brandish a weapon, APD will finish them off. They gain some notoriety, families may get some form of restitution. I know it sounds callous, but the pattern seems evident. I definitely agree it is a lack of leadership from Mayor Berry.

Most mentally unstable folk on the streets don't want help, otherwise they would have it, It's there. You could institutionalize by force I guess.

The investigation into the Boyd shooting needs to be completed before anyone starts picking off officers. You have a few seconds of a video but no one was on the ground but those officers. We don't know why they shot him. You only guess and speculate with your own biases.

Don't we all?

The officers at the protest were outnumbered and stood toe to toe with people spitting hate, threats and accusations at them. I was very proud of them. Most of us, would have reacted.

I was proud of them.

I support protesting. I think its important in any society to question and protest when something is wrong in the community. Yesterday was just a bunch of idiots who suddenly felt they had a soap box to stand on and decided to make the most of there moment.